James Clerk Maxwell (1837-1879)


"Mathematicians may flatter themselves that they possess new ideas which mere human language is as yet unable to express." -James C. Maxwell, Physicist
James Clerk Maxwell was a physicist, which most significant contribution involved the research of electromagnetic waves. A man who left us early in the race to understand the universe as we know see it. Hadn’t he died so early, he may had developed the Theory of Relativity himself. He discovered that light was part of electromagnetic radiation, that Saturn rings were composed of millions of particles, and the principles of color vision. People today who use color televisions and cell phones might not know that it was thanks to him we have these things. [¹]

Insight and Influences


Maxwell's most well-known acquintance was Lord Kelvin, and his the person that had most influence in Maxwell was Michael Faraday and his studies on Magnetism, ] Maxwell's studies of electromangetism influenced a great deal of
Maxwell.jpg
reference needed
people, such a Einstein, developer of the relativity theory and Gugliemo Marconi, first person to ever develop a device capable of trasatlantic transmission, the vanguard of wireless communications.]

Contributions


Maxwell is probably best known for his famous equations dubbed "Maxwell's Equations", which thoroughtly revolutioned the field of physics and brought about the discovery of radio waves, these equations became a standard in the field of physics. Maxwell was also adept in the field of thermodynamics and color vision.

EM Waves ]
Maxwell was the first to introduce the idea of electromagnetic waves in his purely mathematical theory "A Treatise of Electricity and Magnetism"(1873). He further formulated a way to measure and understand these waves in the Maxwell's Equations, which theorized that these waves travel at the speed of light. His theory of electromagnetic waves later stimulated the research of wireles communications and the relativity theory

Maxwell's Devil(1867) ]
Maxwell used this hypothetical "finite being" to explain the "Maxwell Devil Paradox". In the paradox, the being could make the heat flow to a cold body by opening a "door" whenever the hot body approached a particle with below average kinetic energy or when a cold body approached a particle with above average kinetic energy,and then it quickly shut it. This creature seemingly defied the second law of thermodynamics, but Maxwell used the paradox to explain how several kinds of particles followed this principle

Maxwell's Equations(1873) Teatrise of Electricity and Magnetism [⁴]
The Maxwell's Equation are one of the most consice and well-known way to calculate and state the fundamentals of electricity and magnetism.

E= Electric Field
maxwel2.gif
reference needed

B= Magnetic Field
D= Electric Displacement
H= Magnetic Field Strenght
p= Charge Density
Epsilon0= Pemittivity
Mu0= Permeability
M= Magnetization
i= Electric Current
J= Current Density
c= Speed of light
P= Polarization



Affect and Effect


Maxwell's most lasting impact in the world of science are his early studies in the Relativity Theory, which he failed to understand more deeply due to his early death. However, this opened the way to Einstein to fully postulated it. His research also paved the way to the study of electromagnetic waves, as he first proposed the very existence of these. [5]

The Things He Left Behind


The Mawxell Equations are the one of the most well-known forms to study electromagnetism. Without his work on the electromagnetic waves, we would never had come up with a myriad of devices ranging form a simple cellphone to space telescopes such as the Hubble. [6]

References



[¹] http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/print/26527
[²] http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Maxwell.html
[³] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/btmarc.html
[⁴] http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/electric/maxeq.html
[5] http://www.gap-system.org/~history/HistTopics/Special_relativity.htm
[6] http://hubblesite.org/the_telescope/hubble_essentials/